Swazi Observer

FULL STORY

MAJOR CRYPTO CURRENCIES TAKE A HUGE KNOCK AMIDST KOREA HACK CLAIMS

By Hlengiwe Ndlovu | 2018-06-14

MOST major cryptocurrencies took a major knock earlier this week following one of the biggest hacks in South Korea amounting to about E504 million.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecash, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies weakened markedly. CNBC reported that following the hack of South Korean exchange Coinrail, Bitcoin slumped by 10 per cent as it traded as low as $6 455.91 (about E77 400) yesterday. Chart analysts were quoted as stating that the slump below the $7 000 mark suggested that a speedy recovery was not possible. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, was down almost 7 per cent whilst Ethereum stood at $496.47. Ripple was lower by nearly 6 per cent yesterday.

Cryptocurrencies have taken by storm many Swati people looking into making the highest investment returns within a short while.

This is despite documented losses amounting to over E200 million being lost to vulture schemes operating in the cryptocurrency space. Just recently, BTC Global, one of the cryptocurrency companies implicated in the fleecing of local investors money was cited in a South African scam where investors were swindled an estimated E1 billion. At Eswatini, BTC Global reportedly lured gullible investors into what was known as ‘good Mondays’ as it faithfully paid each client 14 per cent of their investments every Monday.

The payments were received for a couple of months and when people least suspected, the company’s ‘mastermind’ middleman Steven Twain vanished without trace.

share story